Seth Godin: The power of an insanely authentic brand

Seth Godin has a post this morning you should check out. He’s cooking up something new and different and remarkable and he wants you to be a part of it. His new book, Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us doesn’t come out until October, but Seth is building something bigger than the book. He can explain it better than I can:

“I’d like to invite you to join a members-only tribe. A tribe for marketers, for leaders, for those focused on building communities or creating products or spreading ideas.

This online community will live on a site we’ve created that will feature blogs, forums, social networking, comments, photos, videos and a job board. And it’s by invitation only until October. Spots are limited and early members get privileges and bragging rights.

Members get a password and the privilege of meeting each other, posting thoughts, connecting to big ideas or projects and more. The site will include excerpts from the book as well as a chance to contribute to a new jointly-authored ebook, with full credit and links to the contributors. The contents of the tribe forum won’t be posted to the public until October, so it’s really the only way to participate until then.”

But here’s the thing: He had me at hello. Seth has built such a powerful, authentic and remarkable brand that I couldn’t sign up for this fast enough. I know the book will be worth the read, his books always are. But I’m sure that this exclusive club will be interesting too. He’s got a squidoo lens cooking on this as well.

He’s a master of consumer pyschology as well. Scarcity, exclusivity, setting expectations, everything here is designed not just to sell books – Seth doesn’t need to sell books – it’s designed to get people fired up, engaged and eager to participate. That’s what Seth is about, but he does it in a way that doesn’t come off like Tony Robbins.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the creative process and the people who do the creating. Artists, musicians, authors, etc. I’m far more interested in reading/listening/watching/experiencing the things that are done by people I have an opportunity to interact act with on a meaningful level. I don’t mean fan clubs with automated email responses designed to sell you something, but real human interaction. Seth is a guy who gets this. I’ve sent him several emails over the years and he unfailingly gets back to me. I don’t think he does that because he feels he has to, but because he wants to. He wants to make the connection.